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In the times main as much as final 12 months’s Australian Open, then-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic had his visa cancelled and was subsequently deported after he refused to adjust to the nation’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
But within the 12 months that has handed since then, issues have modified. A change in authorities has resulted in Australia dropping its vaccine mandate for overseas vacationers, and Djokovic’s three-year ban from the nation was overturned in November. As such, a Friday exhibition match between Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios served as a welcome again for the nine-time Australian Open champion, one by which he obtained a rousing reception from the house crowd.
“I used to be very emotional, truthfully, coming into the court docket, with the reception that I obtained. I did not understand how that is going to go after the occasions of final 12 months,” Djokovic instructed reporters on Saturday. “I’m very grateful for the sort of power and reception, love and help I bought final night time.”
Emotions had been, certainly, a robust a part of Djokovic’s much-ballyhooed return to Australia. In a current interview with Channel 9, Djokovic shared that he felt the media had turned him into “the villain of the world” for not getting a COVID vaccine, as a substitute looking for a medical exemption to enter the nation.
However, Djokovic — now the No. 5 participant on the earth — harassed that he doesn’t maintain any emotions of resentment towards the nation regardless of his therapy by authorities.
“If I do maintain the grudges, in all probability if I’m not capable of transfer on, I would not be right here,” Djokovic mentioned.
Now again within the Australian Open, Djokovic has a possibility to win his twenty second Grand Slam title, which might as soon as once more put him even with up to date Rafael Nadal on the all-time record. While Djokovic has been nursing a hamstring harm, the 35-year-old Serb mentioned that the harm is “hopefully” not a significant concern.
